Full Text

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VKrst Year No. t
VANCOUVER, B. C, THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 1M9
' ' ' * ,i ��� ���' i' ' ��� - ���
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Ardera
EXORCISING THE "RED SPECTRE"
IT MUST be admittea that William
of Hohenrollern did noble duty
during the last four or five years as
s bogey man whereby patriotic bourgeois women of both sexes were enabled to frighten their offspring into
due and proper observance of the parental mandate. It is evident that the
versatile "Bill" the bogey has now
been well nigh forgotten. A new and
far more frightful bogey has been discovered, or rather has discovered itself,
in the shape of the "Red Spectre of
Socialism," under its new title, "Bolshevism." The kaiser of "frightfulness" has now been sidetracked,
shelved, thrust into the background
and all bourgeois children are now
frightened into being good by the bar-
rowing tales that are glibly told of the
terrorising possibilities of Bolshevism,
lthough this fearful "Red Speetre"
j-OHaf
and statesmen are by no means idle
in the face of the danger with which
Bolshevism threatens this smug civilization. They are very busy indeed in
conjuring up ways and means to forestall the peril by exorcising the spectre,
or at least holding it within safe limits
while at the same time keeping it in
stock sea means of frightening, sinners
and weak children unto the pathway of
bourgeois righteousness. Bogeys of
frightfulness constitute the main part
of the curriculum used in training the
bourgeois young, as well as the slaves
of bourgeois civilization, to the proper
moral, ethical and spiritual standard
men assert that Bolshevism is actually
born and bred of hunger. If this be
true then the only logical manner in
which to deal with it is to forestall
that hunger The only way yet known
to man. whereby hunger may be^ removed is by a suitable application'of
food to the stomach that longs for
tilling. There are but two ways known
to our glorious- civilization whereby
food may be obtained, that is by either
buying it or stealing it. The latter
being strictly a ruling class perogativs
it would be against the law for *
hungry slave to get the food in that
manner. Therefore/ he must buy it.
leaving no means wherewith to purchase until he first finds a jo>> and
earns the money with which to purchase the food he needs, in ca��o he
finds difficulty in obtaining such job
he is evidently in very great danger
of becoming a Bolsheviki. As�� the
'tlam that lives and thrives at the expense of the toil and sweat of he anl
his class/ it becomes a matter of the
utmost importance that the rulers snd
robbers find s job for him at the
earliest .possible moment lest he becomes fatally infected with the dread
disease of Bolshevism, which, from the
ruling class point of view, is far worse
than the "flu." The slaves must then
lie found jobs so that they may honestly earn the wherewith to purchase food
from those enterprising members of the
luling and plundering world who have
already stolen all the food that has
..been produceA^And it beeomes a mat*|
that peculiar eirilisetion. In spite of , ffejof '^ ��"f S.^jgPPjP
the loudly proclaimed professions of
the bourgeoisie of being possessed of
. a profound antipathy for frightfulness,
. it is well to note thst frightfulness is
the sole lever whereby that Rams bourgeoisie maintains its regime of rule and
jobbery of slaves, and also the only
means whereby sinners are scared unto
tha gates of the bourgeois heaven. If
it were not for his serene highness of
the nether regions, or some other
equally effective bogey to frighten sb>
* nets *to repentance, the rubvg class
heaven beyond the clouds would be
very thinly populated.
"-_ * * ���
There is much diversity of opinion
ss to the genesis of Bolshevism. The
general verdict among the statesmen
and other cheap mouthpieces of the
present delectable order of tilings appear to be that the growth of this evil
thing is in-some manner connected with
the empty stomachs of its devotees. The
very wisest among these alleged states-
l-p�� to find work for those unfortunate
victims of adverse fortune whose hands
are idle and stomachs empty, and who
are thus exposed to the deadly germs
of that awful "'atrocity" known as
Bolshevism. While the ruling elsss cannot conjure forth two blades,of grass
where but one grew before,, that class
can conjure forth a multitude of jobs
a here none previously existed. In fset
it seems to be the chief-mission of the
ruling class to make Jabs far slaves.
That is all it aver has done at any
rate. It has made work for slaves, by
compelling them to produce not only
vhat little they consumed themselves
but also of thst great plenty that the
rulers required. Whenever the sieves
bad any time to spare after having
provided the essential things of Ufa for
both, their masters and themselves, for
the good of their immortal souls (the
houls of both masters and slsves) their
rulers jigged up jobs for the slaves
at building useless stone piles slong
the banks of the Nile,' or performing
other equally useless and laborious
tasks. Anything to keep the slaves
working, no matter how useless the
results of that work might be;; seems
to be the only means of keeping them
healthy and free from the deadly, germs
of Bolshevism that are induced by
thought engendered by empty stomachs.
At least that appears to be the conclusions arrived at by our captains of
industry and their statesmen and wise
guys generally.
1 * * *
The government of Great Britain
rises to the occasion with a statesmanlike breadth of vision that is truly
remarkable. Tlw* term government is
used advisedly, for the financial and
economic interests of that, as of.' aU
other countries, constitute the governments of the world. These big interests
of Britain are right nobly rising * to
it. Jiaud, th-Uu-
vork for the wOrkless, f&P
composed of returned heroes of the
war, who having fought to save the
country from the wicked "Hun" have
i��ow returned to receive their reward.
A tunnel is to be built under the English Channel to Prance. The papers announce that this will ''provide a solution for after-war problems." As everybody well knows that the lack of tun
itela has. most seriously handicapped the
people of Great Britain for the last
two hundred years or more, and that
the working elass has, undoubtedly
suffered untold hardships because of
this lack of tunnels, the sction of the
government in thus wisely taking steps
to lay in a supply of tunnels while
there are workless heroes by the thousands, running about without any protection against Bolsheviki germs, will
meet with the hearty approval of all.
H any there be who will not approve
they must either be pro-German at
heart or are undoubtedly influenced by
bolsheviki .money. There is no other
conclusion thst will stand the test of
reason.- All sueh persons should be deported, after first being disfranchised
recording to the plan already being
adopted by the brilliant and able government of John Oliver and his Punch
and Judy show st Victoria, B. C There
may be some among the British people
find elsewhere who are so 91 informed
as to the needs snd requirements of the
working people especially, who will
have the impudence to fancy what tunnel building either under the British
Channel or anywhere else cannot be
classed"among the useful undertakings
required by men. Let sueh quibblers
hold their peace. It is beyond doubt
that tunnels sre just ss useful to the
producers thereof and to the producers
of all other so-called wealth for that
matter, as were the pyramids upon the
banks of the Nile to the producers
thereof, or to the producers of all other
forms of so-called wealth of those days.
This is so manifestly plain that we
wonder that there is a reinforced concrete cranium in existence that can
withstand the impact of such a self-
evident fact. If one tunnel will not
completely solve the "after-war problem" of unemployment, it is an easy
matter to build two or three more.
, In fact there is room for a lot of them,
for the channel is quite long, and such
8 condition of the tunnel market as to
imply an over production of tunnels
is unthinkable. And then just think
��:f the rest of this tunnel running up to $100,006,000. Why, that is
equal, to the amount spent
Britain
war. If a tunnel per day could be constructed at an expense of $100,000,000
each, even the veriest dub esn easily
free* that tunnel building may readily
he made just as- good for both business, men and slaves as war. And if
such useful and badly needed things
are net produced in sufficient abundr
Jjance to keep the slaves of civilization
busy and immune to Bolsheviki germs,
the "Red Spectre" will surely get us,
so we better watch out.
* * -it
rjf
Along with the tunnel building
scheme came the news of the terrible
shortage of dwellings for the workers
of Britain, the headlines announcing
that, "Britain in need of 300,000 dwellings, for its workers." Not stables for
its tJattle, but "dwellings for its workers," Needless to add that the workers
never,owned any "dwellings" of their
own. Thst is probably Vhy there is no
mention of the workers needing anything of the kind now. It is "Britain"
that needs them. That is the master
class of Britain that needs "dwellings"
in which to stable slaves, at a very
reasonable rent no doubt, which ths
aforesaid slave will be only too happy
to pay. But here agsin is an opportunity to provide more work for returned soldiers and other out-of-works
and thus safeguard them against Bolsheviki germs. The very men whoso
Isbor win build these "dwellings" may,
if they sre fortunate enough to hold
s job, be ellowed to live m these
"dwellings," but not otherwise. In the
cafe of stables for cattle the latter
do not have to pay rent in case they
occupy the "dwellings." Of course
(Cs-tmaed oa Page fltra) pqpappHpai
^WktWhWam
:' 1
PAGE TWO
}
A DISEASE-BREEDING SYSTEM
AND A CURE FOR IT
THE LABOR STAR
- r i ' .1 in i' i ' I.
THUI-1DAY.....
��� March 11, 191*
[By Nemesis]
There are many sorts of heroes.
There is the war hero, of whom we
have heard much of late, who displayed
on the held of battle wonderful courage
rnd resource often in the face of overwhelming odds.
There sre the doctor and the Bursa,
who daily, year in,-year out, face and
fight every disease that attacks our
race, ever cool and resourceful, fearless and unflinching in the face of
myriads, of invisible foes.
Then there is the stay-at-home, above-
1 he-age hero who nobly displayed a
marvelous persistincy hi ( flag-waving
and howling for his younger brethren
to go out and fight for him while he
ptayed at home and ��� accumulated his
dear little dollar gods.
Dear patriotic hero this last; we all
have grown familiar with his type and
duly honor him.
And there is the* man who is not a
hero, hut who has a suggestion to make
which he knows will clash with some
ancient usuage in the social system
which governs us snd he makes it, well
knowing that contempt and ridicule
Mill surely fall with full measure upon
him. He may not be a hero, this person, but merely a poor simple fellow
v.ith an idea, which he hopes may bene-
H his fellow men.
The system under which we live snd
labor, which came into existence st the
end of the feuds! System and which
contained the disease germ of selfish-,
which must ultimately destroy it,
is even now in our time swiftly crumbling to its dissolution.
The insane competition between individuals and nations has already become so acute that a world war and a
uorld-wide plague has swept and is
i.ivefping millio'is upon millions of human beings into premature graves.
Revolution is raging over half the
world and the other half is sullenly
watching and waiting its turn. The
hand of fate is pointing to a dark night
���a night black as Erebus, hot which
will dissolve before s new snd hope-
bringing dawn. ;
Physically, mentally and morally our
race is at a very low ebb. Insanity is
increasing so rapidly that already many
of the world'8 statisticians are calculating the time it will take till the whole
civilized race is composed of lunatics.
The one idea fitting the diseased
brains Of humanity is thst of money
making. From the period of adolescence to the day when death comes to
cut down the poor emacipated, rotten,
disease-filled piece of human flesh this
one idea inflates the mind and stimulates the body to tortuous exertion.
A mad, bad world my brothers truly 1
Oh! the pity and the awful tragedy of
it! A race composed of mental snd physical degenerates, in a world of marvellous beauty and inviolable law which
should have inspired only hope and
courage to reach out to the external,
governing-truth that fills the Cosmos!
Tuberculosis, celled by many the
white plague, is taking today an increasing annual toll of human life in
all civilized countries, which is truly
terrifying.
Societies for fighting it sre spring
ing up in nearly-every large city on
the earth; but if my orchard tree is
attacked by a root-destroying pest it
is useless labor on my part to prune
its sidily branches. I must get right
downy to the roots thereof while the
t't-e is young snd attack the cause of
the mischief and my tree may yet
flourish and bring forth fruit.
And now I will make my statement
v hieh Mill startle many and offer my
suggestion which probably will irritate
many more, who cannot depart from
the accustomed and who worship ths
usuages of yesterday as the Chinese
worship their dead ancestors.
I say the primal cause of our physical degeneracy and mental weakening
-this growing death toll of the white
plague and other scourges snd this annually increasing list of the insane
has its source in the schoolroom.
The present school -system is -logical
and' therefore unnatural and the race
suffers in consequence. y\
The scholars are arranged in classes
of about thirty or forty,or. mors. Each
of the scholars comprising these elssses
is of course a quite distinctive creature.
No two are alike in mental capacity,
natural taste or nervous power; yet tile
teacher is instructed to train each and
all to- grasp and master a certain curriculum in order to pass a certain examination���the one shining goal of
the present school system���a proceeding which can only cause mental deterioration snd ruin in many, who,
under a logical system would have
become efficient specimens of the race.
To such insane lengths do they carry
out Jhis wierd system that only this
yea? I know of one teacher who com
pelled his class to attend some hours
j at school during a vacation became
the time for tIrs insane testing waa
drawing near. Truly an enthusiastic if
unreasoning member of his profession I
Also today I read in my paper that
the 8:.nual convention of the teschars
\t hieh was to have been held in the
Easter week, has been cancelled to allow, those same teachers to continue
their mad pressure upon their scholars i
to try and make up for the few weeks
when the world plague caused the closing of the schools Sit down and think
this proceeding calmly and reasonably
out . * ���
Again the schoolroom is unavoidably'
an unhealthy place snd though we can
never banish it from our cities yet
nevertheless from its very nature it
will ever remain the "despatching station" of many and all diseases. Could
it be otherwise? The scholars, sitting
in a bent and therefore unnatural position, during a'large part of their school
day, breathe over and over again their
own breath and that of their fellows.
Think what that must entail after ten
years of school life.
The schoolrooms of this province are ^
on the whole capacious and we_hven-
tilated but no room could be built nor
ventilation system devised which could
obviate the dangers I have pointed '
out; but with the exercise of a little
logic and a-little more generosity in
the way of expense (and here recognizing I am on holy ground I have
taken off my shoes) we could devise
a system which would minimise these
dangers, to the vanishing point.
In the first place limit the school
(Continued on Page Three)
�����
To the
Comrades: The first convention of
the Federated Labor Party will be held (
at headquarters, S10 Dominion. Build-
ing, Vancouver, beginning at 10 a. m.
Thursday, March 20.
It is now twelve months since the
Party was launched at an informal
gathering following the 1918 convention
of the British Columbia Federation of
Labor.
During the past year the success ��
which has attended the organization of
the Party throughout the province now
warrants the holding of a provincial
convention to determine immediate and
future policies in accordance with the
general desire of the membership of the
various branches.
Representatives will be on a basis of
two delegates for the first two hundred
. members of a branch and one for each
additional hundred or a majority frac-
tion thereof. Branches will make arrangements for transportation of their
delegates.
As the B. C Federation of Labor con-
venes at Calgary on March 10, to be
followed by a ^Vestern Conference in
the same city, the holding of the F. Lv
P. convention March 20 may assist some
branches to secure representation..
Forward to ths Provincial Secretary
the names of delegates as early as possible.
E. T. KINGSLEY,
President.
R. H. NEELANDS,
Vice-President.
MISS H. GUTTERIDGE,
Treasurer.
W.R. TROTTER,
Secretary. ilgs*>m
THURSDAY...U:...., .March if, ISIS
THE LABOR STAR
PAGE THREE
=__
SERMONS NOT
HEARD
IN CHURCH
[By J. 8. WoodsworthJ
"Thou Shalt Not Steal."
Very well, but what is stealing? "It
k a sin to steal a pin." Agreed I But
v.hat about stealing a franchise or a
railroadf Ah, that's another matter.
Jail for the man who 'steals a loaf of
bread. High honors for the patriotic
profiteers who stole millions of war
dividends from a long suffering people.
It was comparatively easy to define
stealing in an age of individual production. If I obtained raw materials
and with my own hands made an implement I regarded it as mine. The
.man who took it from me was s thief.
But in an age of social production when~
a hundred men co-operate in producing, an implement, whose is the implement f If one manages to monopolize
it for himself, thereby securing the
product of other men's labors, who is
ths thief!
If the milkmen adds wster to his
milk snd secures from his customer
twice the money he should, he is -.-id
to be a cheating dishonest rascal. But
if a "wizard of finance" waters the
slock of his Company and doubles the
dividends by securing from the public
profits on wster, he is regarded as a
far-seeing and successful' citizen.
The big interests make laws against
stealing. They enforce them by police
power. They employ preachers and professors to uphold them by moral and
religious sanctions. The* tables are
being, turned. The exploited are turning the exploiter's own weapon against
him.
"Thou shalt not steal" means today
then "Shalt not take without giving
a fair equivalent" "Thou shalt hot
take from the common stock more than,
thy fair share." Where will the mono-
"polists.and speculators, and profiteers
and manipulators of high finance stand
when the people command "Thou shalt
not steal!" The judge is in the prisoner's dock.
. -a ; {
���������Address all communications to
The Labor Star, Suite 510 Dominion
Building, Vancouver, B. C.
A Disease-breeding System and a Ours
fbrlt
ParmiParagraphs
(Continued from Pass Two)
hours to the morning session and devote the afternoon to organized and
systematized out-door games for. the
earrying out of which the teachers
should be efficiently trained. .
Further let all lessons constituting
the morning session, which could possibly be so arranged, he taken out of
doors. Many of these morning studies
could be taken in the open during the
greater part of the year and all the
afternoon games could be carried out
In all sorts of weather by the use of
properly constructed sheds open on all
sides to the winds of heaven. Then
much of the present curriculum which
is useless eould he cut out snd s complete course of natural lew, physical
and moral, which would of course include the lews of health, substituted.
If the above simple system, which I
have roughly outlined, were adopted,
in a generation or two, we should have
a race of men ami women comparatively free from both physical and men-
til uafftiitti
Peace! There can be no peace until
the workers eome into their own,
.'* *'*������'
No one can solve the Workers' problem but the workers themselves. What
m 'ell are they waiting onf
. Sr. * *
- -J
The birthpangs of the new social
order are quickening. The day of world
freedom for the workers is not far
distant
-www
This is no time for dickering or
haggling with profiteering ghouls. They
nnst be deposed and the wealth of
the nation restored to those who produce it.
* * *
Old man Lincoln said "the greatest
good to the greatest number." The
workers, being in the majority, should
be doing the law-making.
'*. * > ....
It's about time the returned men
took a hand in the administration of
the G.W.V.A. Too many old-party politicians on the job at present.
'-'���*��� �� * A
Nothing short of the ownership -4>f
industry will solve the workers' problem. Thst implies, first of all, ownership of the law-making powers.
Sr * *
The food hogs of London have so
manipulated the wheat market that
they hope to have the "price" hoisted
to $2.50 a bushel before the next crop
is available. -
" * * *
The. ballot is but a barometer of tbe
intelligence of the working elass. When
we know how to vote welt know how
to do whatever is neeessary to eon-
serve our interest*'.
* * *
Liebnecht's death produced mors
Spartaeans than the skunks who murdered him anticipated. Beforetimcstory
is completed the ruling elsss junkers
of Germany will pay the debt in full.
* Sr ' *- .
The foodstuffs trust are having one
'elI of a time to find enough warehouses to keep their swag stored-* up,.
under lock and key. (Some of these
days an angry working class will locate
tbe keys. ( /
The organization of a squadron of
N.W.M:P. in Vancouver by the federal
fiteers at Ottawa, can be accepted by
the returned men from overseas as the
hrst instalment of democracy���the kind
they were fighting for.
* * . *
The Labor Star, how' possesses the
full privileges of the mail, sueh ss is
accorded to all "regularly constituted"
newspapers by the postmaster-general
��t Ottawa. So far, so good. Now bring
on the subs, and bundle orders.
a �� *
Speaking of food hogs. The operators
of Vancouver's wholesale row are at
least adept students of the game, as is
evidenced by the "spread" between
v. hat the B. C. farmer receives for his
product and what the consumer pays.
a * ��
The hired help of the corporations
in Canada, who officiate as "the elected
representatives of the people," are
doing all that fa humanly possible to
compel an awakening of the working
elass. As grave-diggers they are; in a
class by themselves.
The B. C. Federation of Labor is in
session at Calgary, this week. This fa
ate ninth"' year of resolution-writing,
and the delegates' elbows and jaws
ere still in good working order. But it
takes a whole lot of resolutions to
make a square meal.
���'*'*'*_������'
The Vancouver laundry workers'
strike cost the members Of organized
labor some $20,000 in donations alone.
That amount, expended to win in a general provincial election, would elect at
���east a dozen working class representatives. When will the worker learn?
* a *
The British corporation members of
the ruling elsss, foxy quillers that they
rre, are more far-seeing than the newly-
rich variety of Canada. They see inevitable social changes on the programme just ahead and sre already
asking: "What shall we do to be
saved!"
* * * "
If the Canadian government had
dune its duty there would be no
privatelyaowned shipyards in existence
on either seaboard. But like munition-
naking and all other forms of graft,
these get-rich-quick swindles were delegated to friends of the profiteers' ring
with headquarters at Ottawa.
Canadian soldiers still overseas are
reported as "raising hell" because they
i esehted being lied to like horsethieves
by the military authorities. It isn't a
circumstance to the treatment they will
receive at the hands of "our country"
when they finally do return. They will
then find something to really get angry
about.
___T 'r_____l
* it *
If the Spartscans are in need of a
precedent, when they get round to it,
here's a London daily press despatch,
under date of March 10: "A great
number of Spartaeans were taken prisoners in the fighting in the centre of
Lerlin Friday and will be sentenced
vo death, according to an Exchange
Telegraph despatch from Copenhagen."
* ' * * ���. ���
The vexatious problem of the ruling
class is how to keep one portion of
the working elass armed and willing
to keep the rest of the workers in
subjection. As has always been the
ease, the "jdirty work" is performed
by uniformed workers. The ruling class
itself is too useless to do anything���except rob and make trouble for those
robbed.
w * '*.,-.':
"The United States Supreme Court
has affirmed the conviction of Eugene
V. Debs, who was found guilty of violating the Espionage Aet."-���Vancouver Province, March 10. If the workers of the United States permit their
ruling elass to get away with this sort
of raw stuff, they will deserve fhe eon-
tempt of any but the most abject
sieves en earth.
* * a
It's a "terrible atrocity" when a
working elsss administration finds it
neeessary to deal rather harshly whan unruly bourgeois, which fails to play
the game'according to the rules. But
ihe latter will get more used to it sa
�����ime goes on. The find few years are
the worst The workers hSve precedents
aplenty for any action * they find
necessary in dealing with ths present,
the most brutal ruling elsss know- to
history.
Labor
MEETINGS FOR NEXT
SUNDAY EVENING
VANCOUVER BRANCH
ROYAL THEATRE
8 p.m. Sharp
Speaker...... J M. Woodsworth
Pianist.. -Julian Haywood
School for children and adults,
2:30 pui, at 641 Granville street
NORTH VANCOUVER
K. of P. HALL
3 p.m.
- "-.~R. P. Pettipiece
NEW WESTMINSTER
COLUMBIA THEATRE
3 p.m. %
SW-W.- -. Dr. W. J. Owny
VICTORIA
K. of P. (Labor) HALL
8 p.m.
���JB. T. Eingsley
NANAIMO
DOItlNIOtf HALL
8 p_��.x
'-���*T���*������������ aasSsWSi ^wh\
���\:'i n-j.'i.:
OFFICERS OF
BRITISH COLUMBIA
BRAHCHES
OF THE
LABOR PARTY
are requested to send THE STAR
annouaesments snd reports of
all meetings held, including
educational public meetings, organization work, and such other
news items as will be of interest
to all. Western Canada wsge-
1 woi_srs: ���
_______ ���JM^*
PAGE FOUR
THE LABOB STAR
THURSDAY... ......March 11. 1��1��
A CfcrSslels an* IntrrarrtaOaa sf hammU
Sa liana I iM latrrnatlonal Carrrat KvrnU
Krom me Wsrkera" VlewiHM���t
< ii'"^ ��� i 111 - ' ��� i 11 i ii Hi,: i .hi i
la.iunl Kvrry Thai���Is? by The Star I'abllablaa;
.�� ��� ' ��� ��� ���. Company
It.'PARM. PBTTIPIECE
B. T. KING-LET
Manager
. Kdltor
<)��(<���: Salle 810 Dominion BulldhiK
Telephone Seymour 4888
In blind la Qn
order* Ov
By mall fa
par Uaue ���V
Hlnsle
5c
NO. 8
���If this number Is on your sSSress
label your lubacrlptton expires
with next Uaue. Renew promptly.
* Vancouver, Thursday, March 13, 1919
am .iniaim i���ia��..n a in ii ii
SHORTENING THE
HOURS Of LABOR
IT IS HELD by many supposed
labor unionists and socialists that
by shortening the hours of labor a
panacea will be found for at least much
ot the trouble that presses jso heavily
upon the toiling millions of all lands.
It is becoming quite fashionable in
labor circles to talk sympathetically
of a six-hour day snd" some of the
more radical and irresponsible members
of the fraternity of peripatetic job
chasers even hint at something still
worse that is to come, and that is a
^four-hour day. Of course every one
- v. ho dislikes work, as does the average
person humorously dubbed a working-
man, will be. heartily in favor' of the
shorter working day. Many there are
v. ho will be raised nearer to the
heavenly beatitudes by each reduction
in its length, and some of the laziest
among us would be supremely happy
if the hours of labor were so shortened
thst there would be none left. But
before our labor snd socialist seslots
bring the millenium unto us by the
shortening of the hours of labor, it
might be well for them to take cognizance of s few simple facts that it
were not wise to overlook if the desired end is to be reached. "Better be
safe then sorry" is s saying not alto-
. gather without merit, and in order to
�� avoid the upsetting of calculations
later owing to having reasoned from
premises that were unsound, affords the
sole excuse for the following analytical ruminations. They are freely offered for the edification of all and
. sundry who expect to unhorse the capitalists by sleight of hand performances
pulled off behind their backs,
w * w
From the best available authority it
sppears that not more than fifty per
.. cent, of the people of this western continent sre engaged in the production
of the essential things of life. The balance are engaged in tha- carrying out
of productive and other enterprises
thst are essential only to the ruling
elass snd the maintenance of its establishment of empire snd rule. It does
Hot matter what the length of the
working dsy msy be, in so far as the
analyzing of the proposition is concerned, but let it be assumed to be
eight hours. Then we have the following postulate: fifty per cent, of the
people work eight hours per day in
producing the essential things of life
for themselves snd the remaining fifty
per cent., while the letter work eight
hours per day in carrying on ruling
elsss production and performing other
ruling class service. It may be readily
teen that if it is necessary for the
former to work eight hours per dsy
in order to provide sufficient of the
essential things of life for themselves
and the other fifty per cent, their hours
of labor cannot be shortened. That is
self evident. The hours of the workers
engaged in ruling class production and
other ruling class service might be
shortened, but not those of the producers of tie essential things of life,
unless some addition might be mads
to the number of those so engaged. If
workers previously employed in the
production of strictly ruling class requirements were transferred to the production of essential things such as
food, clothing, etc., it would then be
possible to shorten the hours of labor
of the producers of these essential
things, but not otherwise. It may be
readily seen thst if fifty per cent, or
any other portion less than the whole
is to carry the burden of providing the
essential "tilings of life for all. it will be
impossible to ^shorten their hours of
Tabor except it might be by means of
improvements in methods of production. And the peculiar part of it is
that up to the present all of the alleged
improvement in the method of production of the essential things of life has
been the direct opposite of improve*
ment and economy except from the
standpoint of the ruling class itself.
To the producers, the slaves, it has
meant nothing but added waste and
expense. It will require something far
more drastic than mere meddling with
Ihe hours of labor of slaves to solve
the problem.
��� *.���, ;���
THE CAPITALISTS
AND THEIR PROFITS
IT IS quite in order for any one to
take a slap at the capitalist. He is
hated by practically every slave Whom
either ill fortune or the will of providence has thrown into his clutches.
And such slaves are not entirely eon-
fined to outright wage earners, for let
it be known that there is a large and
varied assortment of., small fry manufacturers, cockroach merchants and
shopkeepers, and alleged "independent" farmers, who also belong in the
category of slaves of the big fellows
at the top who completely rule the economic roost. Though these small producers and traders do employ and exploit some wage labor they sre extremely fortunate if they are enabled
to hang on to anything gained thereby.
Being between the devil of big capital
upon the one hand and the deep sea
of wage slavery on the other, their
situation is a precarious and unenviable one. In fact the position they
occupy is thst of go-betweens, agents,
procurers, for the purpose of exploiting slaves and passing the plunder up
to the real owners of both slaves and
the plantation (earth) upon which they
toil. Sometimes one of these small fellows succeeds in rising to ,the ranks
of the big ones, but where one thus
rises thousands of his fellows sink into
the sea of hopeless wage slavery below. It has been recently stated thst
14 big capitalists actually own Canada
land all there is in it. Not long sines
it was openly stated by a senator upon
the flooroti-fcU. S. senate, that less
than 100 men owned the United States
and' All thst was within its borders.
Neither statement has yet been refuted.
=
The result of sueh a concentration
of power in the hands of a few persons sooner or later brings on a per*
tect fusilade of curses against these
successful business brigands, usually
termed capitalists, a fusilade in which
wage earners, small fry employers of
labor and cockroafh merchants, raucously join in making the welkin ring
with their noisy imprecations and
vociferous maledictions. Where ths im-
-nediate employer receives the curses
of the sieves who serve under him, he
only does so in the capacity of a proxy
for the great rogues who sit at the top.
It is always the duty of the agent or
procurer to pass the curses up to the
head proprietor, not that it does the
cursed sny harm, or the eursees any
goodi outside of perhaps relieving their
excited feelings somewhat. Human
slavery is conducive to a perpetual
crop of figurative bellyaches among
the slaves of sll degrees, snd the hsbit
of attributing the cause of sueh belly-
fiches to individual capitalists, instead
of to the ruling class' institution of
slavery itself, has become so firmly
fced in the slave mind that it is as
difficult to break as the whiskey or
cocaine habit. If 14 great capitalists
practically own Canada what good can
possibly come from cursing them? That
will not lessen their ownership snd
power for mischief. Neither would the
lacerated feelings of the slaves be
healed even by destroying the owners
themselves. The misery and suffering
oi slaves arises from the civilisation
and its institutions that are based upon
the enslavement and exploitation of the
wealth producers of the world. Gov-*
eminent is its highest expression. Until
the slaves rise and seize the reins of
government, thereby stripping from the
hands of rulers the power to enforce
their edicts and perpetuate-1 their rule
and robbery of slaves, all curses levelled at the heads of the gigantic scheme
of plunder and rapine will be but
wasted effort.
*ha---,i*
ing persons comes forth an insistent
demand for some sort of readjustment
of social and industrial affairs that
will allow of the workers obtaining a
greater participation in the profits of
industry. All sorts of patchwork
schemes are suggested, each a trifle
more ridiculous if such a thing is possible. But, without exception, those
who suggest the proposed reforms or
readjustments sppesr to. be totally ignorant of thep roblem in hand. They
would all like to see something done to
increase the stipend and consequent
comfort of the slaves of production,
[but none of them seem to realise the
nature of capitalist production and the
really insignificant part the capitalist himself plays in the consumption of the wealth brought forth under
it. If they did understand it they would
at once recognize the futility of their
attempts to compel the present system
of slavery to render unto its victims
any other returns than those already
experienced
Slavery divides human society into
two warring factions, masters upon the
one' hand and slaves upon the other.
Government is the instrument snd expression of the master elass. Its function snot purpose is to keep the slaves
in subjection to the schemes and designs of the masters. The slaves must
first be allowed or compelled to produce sufficient of the essential things
of life, such ss food, clothing, shelter,
etc., to supply the requirements of both
masters and slaves, ths requirements
of the latter, however, to be determined
by the masters. AU of the remaining
time of the slaves, beyond that neces-
iary to the production of the essentials, must be turned to the upbuilding
and maintenance of the ruling class
empire of material things ss expressed
in its huge cities, snd all that they
imply, its great mechanism of govern-"
ment, industry and ultimately war, for
wsr is ths crowning achievement of
class rule snd elsss robbery. It is ultimate, beyond which a ruling elsss civilization cannot rise. To talk of abolishing war and establishing a permanent
peace within a -slave civilization may
round very pretty indeed, hut to accomplish that it becomes neeessary to
abolish that slave civilization itself.
Therefore professions of hatred of war.
snd love of peace, coming out of the
mouths of the apostles snd defenders
of the present sieve order, are most
grotesque. More than half of the labor
expended today is absolutely wasted
effort, ss far as conserving sny really
essential human purpose is concerned.
It is expended purely in ruling class
roryiee. and not for the purpose of
making more plentiful the things really
required by human beings for their
comfort and happiness. Less than half
the population of the world is engaged
in useful production. That is in production useful snd neeessary to the
human race. The balance is expending
its efforts in the production and maintenance of, the trappings.and habiliments of the ruling class snd its mechanism of exploitation, trade, commerce, war, finance and the pomp,
grandeur and magnificence that follows in ths wake of the delectable
business of exploiting slaves and building empires out of the plunder. Out of
such an. enterprise or civilization all
the slaves can possibly get is a slave's
portion, snd they should know by this
time whst s miserable and ever shrinking portion it is at that.NNo power on
earth can increase that portion so long
as slavery lasts. It needs neither sage
or pundit to point out for it writ so
large upon the page of history, and
current history at that, that only those
who are wilfully blind can fail to see
it.
-* ' * w
The profits of the capitalists somas
to them in two ways. In the first pises
they get a good and substantial living
for nothing. It is a far better one
than enjoyed by the slaves. They have
plenty of the best of food and everything else.' That is admitted by sll. Outside of what they and their families
consume their profits come to them in
the simps of orders against ths future.
In the first instance they appear in
the shape of figures supposed to represent wealth, to their credit upon bank
ledgers. These figures against the future sre usually swapped for something -now, in the Shape of still fur-
ther investments of capital, so-called,
and these investments, just like ths
figures on the bank ledgers, are also
eharges against the future. And not
even the figures so invested sre destroyed. They sre transferred to other
accounts by the very process of investment. Nothing has been destroyed.
(Continued on Page Plvs) ���M
'
THURSDAY.....:... .March IS* 1��1S
. (Continued from Fase Four)
- Mil I, , 1'. Ill .- I I I.I' II. ,1 -
All remains the same as before. The
figures, that is the figurative wealth,
still remains figurative, and the more
-a* the future may strive to wipe these
figures out the more persistently will
they not only remain but grow even
larger. If the capitalists were cut out
of the proposition altogether, either by
killing them or otherwise obliterating
them from the pleasing game, all that
would have been saved thereby would
be the amount they would .otherwise
be consuming out of the production
carried on by tha slaves. Although
their living expenses are no doubt considerably greater per family than those
of the slaves, still all thst would be
saved by their elimination, providing
that the much boasted "powerful system of production" of today be continued, would not amount to enough
to add $5 per year to the income of
the slaves still compelled to work under
it. And if it is to remain, tint slaves
will still be slaves, less than one-half
of whom would still be providing the
essential things of life for sll, while
the other half would continue producing and maintaining an empire of junk
that would be just as useless to the
producers of wealth as it is now. So
there you sre, unless perchance the
toilers of that time should have sense
enough to junk the ruling elsss empire of exploitation, trade and commerce, including its political and industrial mechanism, st the same time that
they junked the ruling class itself, the
��� capitalists. We patiently a^ait further
suggestions.
"THE FOIBON OF PRODUCTION"
THE LABOB STAB
PAGE FIVE
WE HAVE been favored with a
copy of a pamphlet issued by
the "Canadian Reconstruction Association." Royal Bank Building, Toronto,
entitled "^Bolshevism���The Poison of
Production." It is a gem or-rathejr a
collection of gems dropped by cheap
penny-a-liners and notables of high
degree, all the way from the loquacious
head of the American Federation of
Labor to the equally loquacious premier
of Great Britain. Take it all round it
constitutes a fairly good specimen of
the grotesque snd silly rehash of the
ridiculous and inane diatribes against
-the Russian Bolsheviki thst have drib-
bled from the lips of the apologists
and defenders of the ruling class and
been spread broadcast by its filthy
prostitute press. Thst much of the contents of this precious pamphlet has
been 'refuted dozens of times by men
and women of international repute and
probity, and who have themselves been
In Russia during much or sll of the
revolutionary period and were not only
eye-witnesses to many of its most stirring events bnt were thrown into close
personal contact with numerous of the
chief actors in the great drama,, in no
wise deters the "Reconstruction Association" from distributing this'stuff
thst even its editorial and distributive
staff must know to (be nothing but s
rehash of falsehoods and misrepresentations. Lest the reader be led to believe that the aforesaid "Association"
fc perhaps an ii responsible body, Or one
made up of persons of doubtful standing in Canadian high life or who do
not wear the hall mark of undoubted
respectability, if might be mentioned
thst the "Honorable President" of the
���distinguished "Associstion" is none
less then "Rt. Hon. Lord Shaughnessy,
K C-V.O." and what other flapdoodles
properly belong to his full cognomen.
Then there is "Sir John Willison" as
president, snd. other " Honor ables" this
end "Sirs" that, too numerous to mention, but happily calculated to give
tone and respectability to the concern
by officiating on behalf of the precious
purposes it may have in view. But
just what the dissemination of a lot of
i tale old falsehoods about the Russian
workers and peasants could possibly
have to do with "reconstruction" in
Canada, even this delightful little pamphlet does not clearly set forth.
. ��� * *
But among the gems of falsehood
contained in the pamphlet in question
may also be found at least a few gems
ef statesmanlike wisdom. Not the kind
thst fall from wicked Bolsheviki like
l,enin and Trotsky, who no doubt impudently class themselves among the
world's statesmen, but the real Lloyd
Ceorge brand of wisdom, such as falls
from his lips upon every occasion very
much as water gurgles from the mouth
of a jUg. This is especially good. It is
alleged to have fallen from the great
man's lips once upon a time when he
made "a great statement to Labor during an election campaign." He said:
'Bolshevism is the poison of production. Russia proves that. Russia will
not begin building up a productive
system until Bolshevism has worked
itself out. '(Meanwhile there will be
great suffering and penury throughout
the land and all classes will suffer
alike." If "Bolshevism is the poison
of production" it would appear to, be
abonf'the proper thing to do to leave
it to itself until the "poison" had suf-
f cient time to get in its deadly work.
If a people become so indoctrinated
with that or any other sort of "poison"
that they will not produce the things
that they require in order to exist,
what more appropriate than to leave
them to their well merited fate of extinction? And from what we can learn
about the Bolsheviki that is the method
they are following in dealing with the
class in Russia that corresponds to the
elsss in Britain that Lloyd George
represents and for which he so un-
blushingly talks the rankest of nonsense. The trouble with Lloyd George,
as well as the worthies that constitute
all of the "reconstruction" and other
ruling class fakes upon both aides of
the wster, is that they are terribly
concerned over the lack of production
upon the part of the Bolsheviki or any
other workers, not because of their
solicitude for the welfare of those
workers but because of the lessened
amount of plunder that comes into the
avenues of ruling elass trade and commerce in consequence. If the workers
of Canada, for instance, should cut
down production to meet their own
actual requirements, Lord Shaughnessy
would have no rich swag to haul up
and down upon his precious railway for
the supreme good of his immortal soul.
Just s little understanding of the matter will disclose the why and wherefore of he and his kind manifesting
such an overpowering interest in the
good and welfare of the working people of Russia snd all the world, a good
and welfare that can only be conserved
by providing them with plenty of work
and attuning their immortal souls to
the gladsome melody of still greater
production, always more snd more.
But in spite of sll that the Lloyd
Ceorges of the ruJing^cJass may piffle
forth from their intellectual emptiness
and vacuity, and all that its "recon-
st ruction" resurrectionists may ful-
uunate in print, the Russian situation
is clearing itself, not in the "poison
oi production" incidental to Bolshevism, but in spite of the poisonous
lying indulged in by the statesmen and
other salaried Ran of the ruling class
of all lands. Day by day it becomes
clearer that never wee there less of
violence, brutality and terror in that
part of Russia that is under ths Pol-
sheviki, than now. And in no part of
Russia is there anything approaching
the condition of brutality, violence and
terror that was ths normal condition
throughout Russia during the regime
of the Czars, except in that part in
which the remnants of the old regime
Sic maintained by the democratic bayonets of the virtuous and soulful
"Allies." If the working class of the
other countries was not composed of
servile slaves, meek and! submissive to
the verge of criminality, there would
be such a demand go up for the immediate withdrawal of all foreign
troops from'Russia that it would he
obeyed instantly. Instead of that there
is heard an occasional feeble peep of
protest and that is all. Recruiting, stilt
goes on for the continuance of the
nefarious business and slaves with
great glee still load ships with ammunition for the slaughter of the Bol>
sheviki.
��� ;���-*-���s __-'
EXORCISING THE
(Continued from Pass One)
these "dwellings" will be built in convenient juxtaposition, to the shambles
of industry or slave pens of capitalism* so that the dwellers therein will
be within reach of the germ destroying
work./There will be no Bolshevists
among them in consequence. It will
be remembered that the poet Shelley,
in speaking of beasts snd birds having
homes, remarked "Thou, Oh Englishman--hast none." That is the English
workingman. The ruling elsss of that
country snd sll others hsve homes.
They get them for nothing, so there is
no logical reason why they should not
have them. Many of them have mote
than one. Some hsve as many as half
a dozen or more.
��� * *
v The Pope of Rome is also greatly
disturbed over the rapid and malignant
spread of the Bolsheviki germ. He has
sounded a warning to the great powers
gathered at the victor's banquet board
at Paris to divide the swag. He is urging them to hurry up with the making
ef peace, for he realizes thst the longer
it is delayed and the, more -harsh ite
terms the greater the impetus to Bolshevism and the spread of its deadly
germs. The good man looks with alarm
tt the prospect of, what he terms a
"Bolshevist state," and can see no.way
to forfend its coming except by peace
and work. It might perhaps astonish
the old gentleman to know that neither
alleged peace nor work in super-
abundance will avert its coming. The
present order is a certainly doomed
ss anything can be. Neither pesos
agreements nor the pious lamentations
and prayers of the faithful will prevent
its goirg. Rulers and their job lot of
fclleged statesmen, bonafide priests and
charlatans cannot save it from its fate.
* * *
\ The United States government contemplates the^^gstbtment of drastic
laws to "curb the activities of the Bolsheviki." So it is announced by the over
faithful press of capitalism. It, seems
that all governments are alike in every
respect. To the boneheaded governors
of the world there is no preventative
of progress outside of the club, the
bludgeon, the jail. Oppression snd repression, those are the things. Thets
fo nothing else to government out-Ids
of thst. Government is unthinkable
except there be slaves to govern, to
maltreat, to torture snd to kill. Ths
highest snd most nobis expression of
government is that of the wholesale
slaughter snd devastation of war. Got*
eminent is the instrument of the ruling
class whereby it holds its slaves in subjection and submission to being ruled
and robbed. Loyalty upon the part of
slaves is loyalty to their own rule snd
robbery. Whenever slaves think and
take on an inclination to act like men,
then governments get busy with re-
pressive measures. The prison gates
yawn for offenders against the' sacred
rights of rulers and masters to mis
snd rob. Even the criticism of ruling
class infamies and brutalities becomes
an offence against "law and order"
arc! the minions of the Jaw are set busy
gathering the culprits Into the net. All
privileges and so-called liberties of the
slaves sre withdrawn with as scant
ceremony as the kaiser destroyed the
famous scrap of paper when Tie in-
���ifclUfM P^ghim. No more infamqus act
was ever placed upon the infamous
statute books of any country on earth
then the "espionage act" of the United
States. Thst greatest of sll "democrats," the much-touted Wilson, signed
thst law and made it operative. It may
not be drastic" enough to meet the
requirements of the precious governing
class of that country in dealing with
���he rise of Bolshevism. But other measures sufficiently drastic to meet ths
emergency will be conjured forth. No
more unscrupulous rulers snd ruffians
ever ruled and robbed the wealth producers of, any country on earth, than
the gang that now have the workers
of the U. S. by the throats. And they
will never let up until the workers
develop sufficient manliness snd 'elsss
consciousness to rise against their oppressors as the Russian rose against
the brutal regime of the Czar. There
is no possibility of ths problem of
slavesy being settled upon this continent by the peaceful exercise of the
franchise, for the rulers will not hsve
it so. They sre even now discarding
nil pretense of governing by means of
anything less harsh than the club. The
franchise is being destroyed by piecemeal here in Canada ss welt ss elsewhere. The Provincial government of
the "Honest John" variety Is now engaged in the most noble work of restricting it by cutting off all those who
even look as though they hsd anything
in their heads to reason with. We may
look forward with certainty to ths
adoption of most "drastic" measures
to stem tile movement of the working
class to break the chains of bondage"
to capitalist rule. But they will not
avail.
1 ..in ��. I.,
1
���������Order a bundle of Stars���3 cents
per copy���for sale, or distribution in
your locality. j PAGE sa
THIS LABOB STAB
THURSDAY.
.March 1 ���Villi
"1H"i7Hi
THE HARDEST RATTLE OF ALL
WE HAVE been of the opinion
that the fighting in Europe
was indeed hard. We have fancied that
lie who went forth on' behalf of king
and country to "do his bit" would suffer hardships and endure sufferings to
v hieh he was a stranger before he left
wid which he would nOi be again
called upon to experience if he were
fortunate enough to return to his
grateful country. And now it is being
uncovered to us that we were in error,
lhst instead of the battle upon the
ether side of the big pond being the
hardest ever, that distinction is left
to the battle that the returned men
w'll have to face now that the war is
over and they are back in "this Canada
of ours." While the proof'of it comes
to us as somewhat of a shock, it nevertheless comes, from such a trustworthy
source that we \an scarce .doubt it
r'pealrfng # the evident disposition of
^ome of the returned men to think thst
tlieir eOuntry owes them an easy living, in return for having "done their
bit," the Montreal Gazette says: "It
has been fostered by a disposition on
the part of civilian societies to coddle
the soldier, overlooking the somewhat
important fact thai those who served1
their country as soldiers in the war
did* what was their plain duty; and
would have incurred shame and reproach had they not so served. The
soldier who returns to Canada must
not be encouraged to think that, being
fit, he can avoid service in the hardest
bettie of aU, -which is the battle of
life."
* it *
It is not a matter of record that the
battle of life is a hard one for any
other animal than a slave.' Animals
that are left free and undisturbed, by
man are not compelled to make the
Tetter of living a battle, but upon
the contrary a pleasure\ If life could
have a purpose it must bp\ that of the
enjoyment of life. And it\quite evidently does have that purpose to every
living thing outside of slaves. As slaves
consist Of human beings that,are held
in thrall by others of their kind, and
Mich other animals as man has been
able to convert to the slave gospel of
vbrk, these seem to constitute the en-
the category of animals to whom life
is a "hard battle." And there is nothing
1,1 nature that imposes such a cruel
penalty upon them aa that of being
compelled to wage such an unceasing
battle. It is a penalty evidently imposed
upon the slaves, thst is upon the alleged human part of them, by those
of their kind who have either been
strong or cunning enough to impose
the penalty upon them. That it igstill
the portion of the slaves to besj^he
yoke and even go to the extreme of
butchering each other up occasionally,
to make a ruling class holiday, is not
so much due to the force or cunning of
their masters as it is to their own un-
Sofferable ignorance as a elsss, sn ignorance that they seem stubbornly determined to hang onto through thick
r.nd thin. Perhsps the creator made
them that way on purpose.
it ���'"*' *--;.
And now that ths soldiers hsve had
a hard battle over in Europe In order
to save Canada from the wicked
clutches of the "Hun," those who have
been so unlucky as to return are faced
��rHb an even harder "battle of life"
GET THE OAT FIRST���
AND THEN SKIN IT"
There is only one cure for evils
which newly-acquired freedom produces
and thst cure is freedpm. When a prisoner first leaves his cell, he cannot
hear the light of day; he is unable to
discriminate colors or recognize faces
The remedy is to accustom him to the
rays of the sun.
The blaze of truth and liberty may
at first dazzle and bewilder nations
which have become blind in the house
ef bondage. But let them gaze on, Snd
they will soon be able to bear it In a
lew years men learn to reason. The extreme violence of opinion subsides.
Hostile theories correct each other. The
cattered elements of truth cease to
contend, and begin to coalesce. And at
'cngt h a system of justice and order is
reduced out of chaos.
Many politicians of our time are in
1 he habit'of laying it down as a self-
evident proposition, that no people
ought to be free till they are fit to use
their freedom. The maxim is worthy of
the fool in the old story, who resolved
not to go into the water till he had
learned to swim If men are to wait
for liberty till they become wise atfd
i?ood in slavery, they may indeed wait
forever.���Macaulay.
in ordcytrf) get 8 living .in the very
country/>h_t they so heroically fought
ior.yArux if that be true then is he
unlucky indeed who1 finds himself confronted with so hard a fate. He who
paid the "supreme sacrifice" evidently
did not pay it, but escaped a worse
fate. And is that all the consolation
the ruling class of Canada can give its
returned heroes? Perhaps the Gazette
'? unconsciously dropping the hint of
the utter impossibility of the government be;ng able to do anything for the
returned men. And no one need be surprised if sueh proves to be the fact.
No country engaged in the late unpleasantness can redeem half the prom-
:ses that have been made to their soldiers and workingmen. It is as far beyond the power of governments to do
impossible things as it is of individuals.
All of these precious ruling class establishments are either actually bankrupt now, or are plunging with head-
!' ng speed into it Governments are
but executives of the ruling class, and
no ruling class ever yet found its conscience any bar to the repudiation of
any promises it may have made. And
besides that there are mathematical
reasons why it is not only imnossih'e
for the present ruling class to keep
its promises, but is also impossible'to
keep its industrial establishment longer
running at sueh speed as to avoid fall-
in to jf still worse condition of banjjp
ruptey and ruin.
as *���
It is slavery alone that can make
life the hardest kind of s battle.
Nothing else is capable of doing it. The
matter of producing sufficient of the
essentia) things of life to make a man
uid his family comfortable is of little
consequence, provided the producer is
not enslaved, and robbed. By no conceivable process of reasoning can it be
shown that it should or would require
any more of the time of that animal
called man to feed and otherwise pro-1
vide for his needs, then it would of any
other animal, if he were not enslaved
(ContlanaC oa Fas* Seren)
The Liberator
A Journal of Revolutionary Progress
Editors, Max Eastman
Crystal Eastman
Associate Editor, Floyd Dell
Business Manager, Margaret Lane
Contributing Editors:
Cornelia Barns, Howard Bnlbaker, K.
R. Chamberlain, Eugene V. Debs, Hugo
Gellert, Arturo Giovannitti, jCharles T.
Hallinan, Helen Keller, Robert Minor,
Boardman Robinson, Maurice Sterne,
Alexander Trachtenbcrg, Louis Unter-
meyer, Clive Weed, Art Young.
Published monthly and copyright
1919, by the
' LIBERATOR PUBLISHING CO.,
34 Union Square, East NEW YORK
��� . "��� \
Yearly subscription $2.00 (outside the U.
S. $2.50). Single copies 20c. Rates on
bundle orders and to newsdealers on
application.
Application for i entry as second-class
matter at the postoffice at New York
City pending. *
��aaw-
The Federated Mabor Party >is organised for
lh%t pt&fiijie of securing industrial legislation
and the collet foe ownership and democratic
operation of the means of wealth production.
The Federated Labor Party
AOnTTnATTflW T?flO M'-l-t-t-Ht-i-fT-l
, Af-'lill/AllUn JTUxt M-imJP-tJKO-llJr
The undersigned endorses and subscribes to the furtherance of
the. declared objects of the Patty.
Name ���
Occupation. t Address.........���.........
.Phone No.
Together with Membership Fee of One Dollar, hand in, or
mail to the Secretary, Room 510, Dominion Bldg., Vancouver,
B. C, and obtain Membership Card and official receipt.
___,*.
��� GOOD LIVE NEWSBOY
__-��_*,
��� aaainrsM s__V��_Sfja-_W *as_s_- M ML
and more than that on Sunday Evening
OHK OE TWO MORE WAlfTED
Apply it 3:30 p.m., Suite 610 Do__teioii Building
(Star street sales are running over 2,000),
I 118 I THURSDAY..........March IS, ISIS
THE LABOR STAB
PAGE SEVEN
THE DOOM OF EMPIRES
[By Robert G, IngersollJ
The traveller standing amid the ruins
of ancient cities snd empires, seeing on
every side the falling cellar and prostrate walls, asks: Why did these cities
fall? Why did these empires crumble?
And the ghost of the past, the wisdom
of ages, answers: These temples, these
palaces, these cities, the ruins of which
you stand upon, were built by tyranny
'and injustice. The hands that built
them were unpaid. The back that bore
the burdens also bore the marks of the
lash. They were bttUr by slaves to
tatisfy the vanity and ambition of
thieves and robbers. For these reasons
they are dust. ,,___
Their civilization was a lie. Their
laws merely regulated robbery and established theft They bought and sold
the bodies and souls of men, and the
mournful wind of. desolation, sighing
amid their crumbling ruins, hi a voice
of prophetic warning to those who
would repeat the infamous experiment,
uttering the great truth, that no nation founded upon slavery either of
body of mind can stand.
When I take into consideration the
agony of civilized life, the failure, the
poverty, the anxiety, the tears, the
withered hopes, the bitter realities, the
hunger, the crime, the humiliation and
the shame, I am almost forced to say
that cannibalism after all is the most
merciful form in which man ever lived
. upon his fellowmen. It is impossible
for a man with a good heart to be satisfied with this worltLas it is now. No
Iman esn truly enjoy even what he
knows to be his own,' knowing thst
millions of his fellow men sre in misery
and-want. When we think of the famished we feel that it is almost heartless to eat; to meet the ragged and
shivering makes one almost ashamed
to be well dressed and warm. One feels
as though his heart was as cold as their
bodies.
In a country filled with millions sad
millions of acres of land waiting to be
tilled, where one man can raise the
food for hundreds, millions are on the
edge of famine. Who can comprehend
the stupidity at the bottom >of this
truth? Is there to lie no change? Is the
law of supply, invention and science,
Monopoly and competition, capital and
legislation, always to be the enemies
of those who toil? .
Will the workers always be ignorant
and stupid enough to give their earnings for the uselessf ... Will they
always build temples for ghosts snd
phantoms, and live in huts and dens
for themselves? Will the lips unstained
by lies, forever kiss the robed im-
poster's hand? Will they finally say
that the man who has had equal privileges with all others, has no right to
complain, or will they follow the example that has been set by their oppressors? WH1 they lesrn thst force
to succeed must hsve thought behind it
and that thought must rest upon the
cornerstone of justice f
The kind of "censorship" the workers, want lifted from the daily press
news service is not much * the quantity
and-quality. as the source from which
it comes. Surely it is time the workers
tried to establish a news service of
their own other than the present slow-
freight variety.
Profit is the amount the workers pay
for the privilege of earning wages.
'���^_t- �� a
In railway operation there is what
is termed the "long" and "short"
haul, the system paying on the law
of averages. A similar principle could
he adopted under provincial ownership of provincial industries. The outstanding result would be the production of essential wealth in plenty for
everybody, rather than an answer to
the query: "Will R~pey!"
* * * >
What happened thst poor' old
Mother Hubbard, Moving - Picture
Censor Hepburn, when he heard the
French Army Band playing the Mar-
f-eiliaise last Monday night at the
Orpheum Theatre? And this is what
he barred the F. Lv P. from using on
the slides In the Theatre Royal!
* * *
Under cover of the war situation,
the business interests of this country
h;ive carried on a systematic campaign
in all parts of the country against
workers active in the labor struggle.
Hundreds of working men and women
have been jailed on flimsy pretexts and
emvicted on prejudiced testimony. Ex-
orbitant bail has usually been demanded, resulting in months of imprisonment before conviction. Sentences of
a severity unmatched even in Prussia
have been imposed in countless esses
With the cessation of hostilities, tiie
time has come for the workers throughout the country to demand the liberation of sll persons imprisoned during
the-war for reasons directly or indirectly due to their participation in
the labor movement, or for acts or
utterances dictated by their conscience.
It is our duty to act at once snd to
net rigorously until we secure the release of these political prisoners.
The" Hardest Battle of All
:
* (Co*
tlnued from Page Six)
and therefore Compelled to provide for
others without recompense or reward.
But the returned soldiers are to be
now plunged again into-the "battle of
life" the "hardest battle of all." While
they were in the service they were
provided for by others of their kind.
Now they in turn will hsve to produce
perhaps' five, ten, twenty or fifty times
as much as they will get, and they
will have, to do it for nothing, as slaves
always are compelled to do. They sre
now returning to normal conditions
inid a normal life, that is for slaves.
i'.et them not forget that. And whatever it is that they experience now
that they have returned, let them also
not forget thst it is exactly what they
fought for so heroically upon "Flanders
field." In the light-of what the Gazette
discloses, it really looks as though he
who went to the front and "did his
bit," did it a great deal easier than
he who staid in Canada and did it. And
now that he has returned he will be
compelled to make up for lost time by
fighting harder than he ever did in
Europe.1 At least thst is what is to be
inferred from reading the very reliable
Montreal Gazette. Hurrah for slavery f
Down with the Bolsheviki and other
evil-minded radicals. Let us cling to
the good things we now have rather
kthan fly to the evil things thst we know
naught of. Forward all to the "hardest
battle of airy the battle of life. If the
Bolsheviki wins the world the battle
will probably be still harder. We may
have to hire" help to fight it then.
T
~��� i *
xjL
A Weekly Chronicle and Interpretation of Local, National and
International Current Events
From the Workers'
Viewpoint
IN BUNDLE ORDERS
3c
To Sell
or Distribute
for
Educational
issued - Every Thursday by The
Star Publishing Company
R. P. PETTIPIECE... Manager
E. T. KINGSLEY........Editor
Office: Suite 510 Dominion Bldg.
? r
BY MAIL PER ISSUE
4c
��� t
SINGLE COPIES
5c
IT*""
I
''*".,
Telephone Seymour 49$3
E. r. Kingsley, Editor
Address all communications to
THE LABOR STAR
Suite 510 Dominion Building
VANCOUVER, B. C. PAGE EIGHT
THE LAB
TAB
EDITORIAL NOTES
The British minister of reconstruction is reported as saying
that "it is estimated that the
Unitel Kingdonrif properly cultivated could produce enough
Uood for about 80,000,000 people" It is but fair to presume,
knowing what we do of the
landholding class of that delightful part of the earth, that
the estimates have not been altogether calculated to wipe out
any appreciable part of the
landlord's, privileges. That is
probably why the estimates do
not raise the possible production of food above the requirements of 30,000,000 people. It
is no wild statement to make
that if aU useless production
is out out anot the agricultural
possibilities of the country
turned to the. supplying of the
legitimate and essential needs
of the people, the resources are
there for the maintenance in
comfort and plenty of a far
greater population than the
United Kingdom now has. And
besides this the only justifies
tion for the presence in any
country or given area of more
people than can find sustenance
for themselves there, is to be
found* in human slavery. Such
a congestion of population
could not occur otherwise.
ONE OF THE FINEST TONICS '
Good for Health Improves the Appetite
* . ��� , ���. >���' ���'"���/
CHEAP PRODUCTION
Everyone knows that cheap goods can only be produced by
using cheap materials' and employing cheap labor.
CASCADE BEER
j
is produced from the-highest grade materials procurable-
Cascade is a UNION, product from start to finish.
VANCOUVER BREWERIES LIMITED
_t#
CUT THIS OUT AND MAIL WITH ENCLOSURE
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* 510 Dominion Building
Vancouver, B. C.
Enclosed find $.���.....for which send me... -..issues
of The Star at the rate of 4 cents per issue.
Name
Address
aaUasasaaes as sassws asanas*
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We are informed from Paris
that in the matter of the internationalization of waterways, the
peace Congress has no intention
of nationalizing either the Suez
or Panama canals. The reason
given is that each of them runs
through only a single country.
Is that not some choice hypocrisy
for you ? And that too in view
of our worthy governments so
'oudly proclaiming their devotion to the "freedom of the seas
and the internationalization of
waterways." Of course even the
veriest boob knows that the real
reason why the Sues and Panama will not be internationalized
is because they belong to the two
biggest, strongest and most conscienceless of the brutal aggregations of bandits and pirates
called nations, and these two big
ruffians having set out to rule
the Carth are not disposed to
surrender any point of vantage
whatever.^ These two "blood
brothers" by virtue of expressing their arrant hypocrisy in the
same language, have simply fallen
heir to that which the late
jjamented crazy "Bill Ilohen-
zollern^, set out to conquer for
himself. That is in their own
minds they have fallen heir to
the right to rule and rob the
earth.- They will therefore need
the Suez and Panama in their
business. That is why they arc
not internationalized. The 1 es:
that is said about "freedom of
the seas" the better. The .overwhelming preponderance of the
naval strength of these two areh
hypocrites, Uncle Sam and
Johnny Bull, over that of all
the lesser national hypocrites
combined, makes it unnecessary
that anything further be said.
And besides that it is purely a
ruling class affair anyhow. Under
iio circumstances, is it any of the
slave's business, only some of
them cannot help but notice it.
it it tt
At the sittings vof a Federal
Royal Commission, now in session in Vancouver, Mr.. Coughlan
complained that many of his
employees were "loafing on the
job." They probably had been
reading press reports covering
the House of Commons at Ot
tawa, which was compelled' to
adjourn for lack of a quorum.
* it it
Here'8 a suggestion for the
military authorities in Canada
who are so hesitatingly giving
discharges to men returned from
overseas. Daily press despatches
announce a "scarcity of preachers, " which was not produced,
however,-by ���casualties at the
front
* it it
What were " we" fighting for ?
Says a daily press despatch:
Thirty independent packing companies in the United States have
formed an export association to
push the sale of their products
in foreign markets. A represen-
tative will be sent to Europe at
once."
* �� *
"Jack" Kavanagh. at Calgary
this week, succeeded Duncan
McCallum as president of the
B. C. Federation of Labor. A. 8.
Wells was re-elected as secretary by three votes, over W. A.
Pritchard.
a a it
Present indications sre that
the first ^annual convention of
the Federated Labor Party,
which opens in Vancouver next
Thursday, will be fairly representative of the province.
ft * *
The workers of the world must
own the industries of the world
- THURSDAY.
.March It,
m*
��� v*v' ��� '.
10 per Cent. Off to All Soldiers ond Their Families
All Teeth Are Not Alike
��� just as faces differ so do teeth ���in appearance���in
adjustment.
1 take this into account in doing dental work. I harmonize
the artificial work with the natural teeth. I adjust it so as
to perfectly fit the mouth���so as to give a perfect bite
with the corresponding teeth.
That's individual dentistry. Call and ass examples of this
work. Let me explain its advantages.
DR, BRETT ANDERSON
PHONE SEYMOUR SSS1
Victory Bonds taken in
change for dental work..
e��
X-Hsy
guarantee given.
Films
e give:
taken ��� 10-year
CROWN AND BRIDGE"
SPECIALIST
Hastings Street West
COR. SEYMOUR STREET
Office Open Tuesday and Friday Evenings Until 8:00 o'CIoek
Union Blue
Cigars
ELDoro-ElSidelo
_���_���������_���������������������-. ___________ i 11
McLEOD, NOLAN _ CO.
Makers
LONDON, ONT.
These Cigars are made from the highest
grades of Imported Tobacco grown, and
are made under the most sanitary conditions in a strictly union factory.
Any honest connoisseur of tobacco will
tell you that they are the Cigar of Cigars.
^~ For Sale Everywhere
If your dealer hasn't got them, write
D. 3. EI.MER, SUS Alberts St., Vancouver
Tha Star will specialise In bundle
orders, to be placed on sale at public meetings by various labor organisations. Order a bundle today
-S cents per copy.
The business office, and editorial
sanctum of Editor Kingsley, is now
located at Suite 510 Dominion
Building, corner Hastings and Cam-
hie streets, Bey. 4S8S.
Address all communications to
The Labor Star, Suits 610 Dominion
Building, Vancouver. B. C.
Organise public meetings and sell
literature���then orgalnse (or election day! ,
DR. W. J. CURRY
DENTIST
���alts ail Demtalsa -Ms.
Phone Seyesas* 88M
Vanesaver, B. C.
i ii.m.in __���_i_ __���_������
Perry C& Dolfc
. Labor Temple
TAILORS
FOR THE BEST IN C-OTHES
The Actino Optical Institute, Ltd.
IS NOW SITUATED AT
602-13 ORPHEUM BUM. (traovffls Street
HAVINO REMOVED FROM BIRRS* BUILDING
1 In order to allow Dr. Jordan more time to devote to literary and
scientific work, the direction of the Institute Is now In tha hands
of Dr. Arthur Plercy, F.B.M.C., London. Eng.. who has for soma <M
time been studying Dr. Jordan's methods.
1 Fatlents desiring tha personal attention of Dr. Jordan must make
special appointment
1 Tha following works, by A. McKay Jordan, can be obtained at the
above address:
Actino-Ocular Therapeutics .
The Book of The Osa Law .
(Postpaid)
Others In process of preparation.
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